Bluegrass Freedom Fund resurfaces

A political group that urged changes to Kentucky's ethics laws during the 2007 gubernatorial campaign resurfaced Thursday with a news release calling on Kentuckians to pressure lawmakers for change during the upcoming legislative session.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund's re-emergence comes days after the Herald-Leader reported that Gov. Steve Beshear may not propose a constitutional amendment limiting a governor's pardoning powers during the session of the General Assembly that begins Tuesday.

Beshear said he still supports such a measure, but may wait until 2009 to push the proposal.

During the gubernatorial campaign, Beshear pledged to lead an effort to pass and put on the ballot a constitutional amendment that would prohibit governors from pardoning individuals who haven't yet been convicted of a crime.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund ran at least $3 million worth of television ads last fall pounding former Gov. Ernie Fletcher for pardoning members of his administration and invoking his constitutional protection against self-incrimination during an investigation of state hiring practices.

Fletcher issued a blanket pardon for his entire administration, even though no one had been convicted of a crime.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund's news release called on lawmakers to take six actions:

• "end pardon abuse"
• "protect whistleblowers"
• "reduce delays in releasing government records"
• "increase penalties for elected officials, staff and appointees who abuse the merit system"
• "increase penalties for violating the code of ethics"
• "make the Executive Branch Ethics Commission independent and non-partisan"

Beshear pledged support for most of those proposals during the campaign and plans to push for some of them during the upcoming legislative session.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund is an independent political organization formed under rule 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.

UPDATE 5:31 p.m.: Achim Bergmann, a consultant for the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, said some of the organization's founders, whom he wouldn't name, haven't yet decided what different approaches the fund would take to continue pushing the reforms during the General Assembly session.

Bergmann said the group isn't disappointed with the Beshear administration's lukewarm enthusiasm for some of the reforms, such as curbing pardon power.

"Gov. Beshear set the right tone during his inaugural address," Bergmann said, referring to Beshear's Dec. 11 pledge that an executive ethics proposal will be among his first suggested bills. "We hope the budget mess doesn’t sideline the ethics reform or any other meaningful legislation."

- John Stamper

Comments

[Rasputin]

That is all it takes? Addressing ethics reform in his address?

This is outrageous. What a bunch of hypocrits.

[merit worker]

To Achim:

Schtrenzil! Zut nachus bicht schwein.

Now what I mean, chili bean?

-- Mordechai Rischler Farmer